When Cogen's side responded that transferring ownership would be a lengthy process requiring legislative changes, Adams' representative said that Portland was confident it could find the support. Adams' chief of staff in a September e-mail said he didn't see any timing issues, in a further refute to the concerns.

Today, Adams' chief of staff, Tom Miller, explained the difference between the two statements. Yes, Adams wanted to include bridge transfers as part of the Sellwood negotiations. But no, Miller said, it was not explicitly a precondition -- meaning Adams did not say the deal was contingent on the transfer. It was, Miller said, simply a negotiating point -- not a precondition.

What's important to note is that Adams' bridge-transfer effort likely did not have necessary support within Portland City Hall, had Adams kept pushing. Commissioner Randy Leonard would have been an Adams' ally, but at least one other City Commissioner told Adams that pursuing the transfer now should not be a priority.

"For the sake of moving this forward, and trying to keep this simple and streamlined, and because of all the controversy that it creates in our own respective jurisdictions on both sides, we'll deal with those issues another day," he said.

Miller said he anticipates those conversations will happen over the next year.